Immigration Conference at ASU’s Downtown Phoenix Campus on September 30

Grupo Salinas and Azteca America through its non-profit arm Fundacion Azteca America are pleased to present, in conjunction with Arizona State University’s School of Transborder Studies, a groundbreaking conference on immigration entitled “State of Latinos: Truth in Immigration,” to be held in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism’s First Amendment Forum in downtown Phoenix on September 30.

The conference will include an overview of the US-Mexico trans-border world, an examination of the development of US-Mexico immigration laws and an outlook into legalization, regularization and the future of immigration. The event will also include a media panel, coordinated by the Cronkite School, to examine coverage of SB1070 from different perspectives through radio, TV, newspapers and the Internet.

Participants include: Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon; Thomas Saenz, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF); Daniel R. Ortega Jr., National Council of La Raza (NCLR); Dr. Carlos Velez-Ibanez, School of Transborder Studies, ASU; Evelyn Cruz, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, ASU; Francisco Lara Valencia, School of Transborder Studies, ASU; Armando Guzman, Azteca America Maritza; Lizeth Gallego Felix, Prensa Hispana; Maria Barquin, Radio La Campesina;  Richard Ruelas, Arizona Republic; Angel Rodriguez, azcentral.com.

“We are pleased to engage the issues of immigration from an informed point of view that will help the greater public to attain a better understanding of the complexities of the subject,” said Dr. Carlos Velez-Ibanez, Director of the School of Transborder Studies.

“Our national debate on immigration policy and on the enforcement of immigration laws needs an infusion of greater factual accuracy and a commitment to carefully informed deliberation,” said Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). “Conferences like this one will help to reduce the amount of policymaking that is based on political posturing and pandering to fear and intolerance.”

“State of Latinos: Truth in Immigration” is a one of several initiatives supported by Fundacion Azteca America to foment dialog regarding comprehensive immigration reform.

A poster and schedule can be found HERE (pdf)